POWER RANKINGS: Who splashed their way to the top of the charts on a spectacular Sao Paulo weekend?

Max Verstappen came out on top with a masterful performance in the relentless rain at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. But who else impressed our judges across the Interlagos weekend? Scroll down to check out the latest Power Rankings leaderboard.

How it works

• Our five-judge panel assess each driver after every Grand Prix and score them out of 10 according to their performance across the weekend – taking machinery out of the equation

• Our experts’ scores are then averaged out to produce a race score – with those scores then tallied up across the season on our overall Power Rankings Leaderboard (at the bottom of the page)

READ MORE: Verstappen wins chaotic Sao Paulo Grand Prix after stunning recovery from P17 as Alpine score shock double podium

Max Verstappen cut a hugely frustrated figure after the first part of ‘Super Sunday’ in Sao Paulo, having been knocked out in the Q2 phase of qualifying amid a red flag and then fallen further down the grid with his engine-related penalty. Just a few hours later, the Dutchman went from P17 to victory with a wet-weather drive for the ages. A red flag worked in his favour this time, but our judges could take barely anything away from the performance he delivered around it.

READ MORE: Verstappen reflects on ‘absolutely crazy’ Sao Paulo GP after sublime climb from P17 to victory as he extends title lead

“I don’t know if we’re in the reality right now or if we’re still in a dream!” Esteban Ocon could barely believe what had happened at Interlagos on Sunday. After a difficult start to his weekend in dry conditions, the Frenchman came alive when the weather turned to qualify a stunning fourth and then briefly lead the Grand Prix. While Verstappen ultimately slotted ahead, P2 represented a remarkable return for Ocon and Alpine given their on and off-track challenges this season.

READ MORE: ‘We never gave up and here we are’ – Alpine pair overjoyed by unexpected double podium in Brazil

To make the weekend even more memorable for Alpine, Ocon was backed up by team mate Pierre Gasly in a double podium finish – lifting the squad from P9 to P6 in the constructors’ standings. Gasly had been eliminated in Q2 after failing to get a lap in on the intermediate tyres, but impressively rose from 13th to join Ocon in the fight at the front and did just enough to keep the Mercedes of George Russell at bay.

READ MORE: Alpine boss Oakes ‘really proud’ of Ocon and Gasly after Sao Paulo podium as he voices confidence for final triple-header

Yuki Tsunoda was another star of Sunday’s wet qualifying session as he charged to a brilliant third behind Russell’s Mercedes and McLaren driver Lando Norris. It was always going to be a challenge to hold onto a podium spot across a race distance, with the Japanese racer gradually slipping down the order to seventh position, but it nonetheless marked his and the team’s best result since the Miami Grand Prix in May.

HINCH’S HEROES: Which five drivers most impressed IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe on a dramatic weekend in Brazil?

Russell did everything right in the early stages of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, jumping past pole-sitter Norris off the line and controlling the race from the front. However, the decisive moment came when he and Norris pitted under a Virtual Safety Car, which was followed by a full Safety Car and a red flag. It allowed Verstappen, Ocon and Gasly to move ahead and meant he had to settle for P4 on a day that promised more.

READ MORE: ‘I was pretty angry’ – Russell reflects on losing out to red flags after leading initial stages of Sao Paulo GP

Liam Lawson underlined RB’s strong pace in the wet conditions by qualifying fifth to team mate Tsunoda’s third – the New Zealander building on what has been a strong start to his F1 return. As per Tsunoda, Lawson slipped back in the race, getting caught up in an incident with Oscer Piastri – for which the McLaren driver was penalised – but still added a couple of points to the board to limit the damage inflicted by rivals Alpine.

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After such strong displays from Ferrari in Austin and Mexico City, Charles Leclerc described the Brazil weekend as one of “damage limitation” for himself and the outfit. While team mate Carlos Sainz crashed twice in the tricky conditions, Leclerc kept his car on the road to collect a handful of points – taking third from the Sprint (after a penalty for Verstappen) and fifth from the Grand Prix itself.

READ MORE: Sainz ‘cannot explain’ Sao Paulo crashes as Leclerc admits weekend was ‘damage limitation’ for Ferrari

As mentioned above, Norris had been running second to Russell in the opening exchanges and pushing for a way past his fellow Briton, only for both of their races to be hampered by the red flag that followed their VSC pit stops. While Russell recovered to fourth, Norris had a couple of off-track excursions and eventually came home sixth – rival Verstappen’s win serving as a blow to his title chances.

READ MORE: Norris rues ‘unlucky’ pit stop timing in Sao Paulo as he vows team will ‘keep our heads down’ despite title setback

Kick Sauber remain the only team yet to score a point so far this season, but Valtteri Bottas did all he could to try and change that statistic when the rain arrived at Interlagos. Indeed, after a determined display in the main qualifying session, the Finn was just one spot away from a Q3 appearance – putting himself in contention across Sunday’s race. It was not meant to be in the end, with Bottas taking 13th at the chequered flag ahead of his impending exit from the squad being announced.

READ MORE: Bottas and Zhou to leave Kick Sauber as team confirm decision to part ways

Piastri’s weekend in Sao Paulo started well with a stunning effort to grab pole position for the Sprint race, which he finished second after playing the team game and allowing Norris to slip through for the win. From there, and as the rain fell, things got more challenging for the Australian. He could only manage eighth in qualifying thanks to a compromised run and ended up there in the race via a penalty for clashing with Lawson.

F1 NATION: How Max Verstappen drove ‘like Senna and Schumacher’ in ‘hall of fame’ victory in Sao Paulo

Ollie Bearman, standing in for the unwell Kevin Magnussen at Haas, was another driver to impress in the dry and struggle in the wet. After confidently out-pacing experienced team mate Nico Hulkenberg en route to Q3 in Sprint Qualifying, he was knocked out in Q1 on Sunday morning and then had an incident-filled race in the afternoon – including a time penalty for rear-ending Franco Colapinto and a slide into the barriers.

READ MORE: ‘Too many mistakes, too many time losses’ – Bearman gives brutal verdict on his Sao Paulo super-sub performance for Haas

Missing out

Lewis Hamilton was unhappy with the handling and ride of his Mercedes all weekend and just missed out on a top 10 Power Rankings spot after salvaging a point in the Grand Prix, along with fellow multiple world champion Fernando Alonso, who showed flashes of pace in the wet after Aston Martin gambled on their set-up but could not claim a reward.